A new day has come

Coop has older cousins around now. When we were living with them he was able to see the natural flow of their day, including the fact that "big kids" do school. When we were out of town last week we stayed with some friends who also homeschool, and since we were there on a Monday he saw them in action. So he's been been very aware of this thing called "school" and it keeps popping up in books and movies. The other day he asked me if the school bus was taking everyone to their homes to do school. Think about it! Try to be logical, I thought. Of course I just laughed and tried to explain that some people went away to school, and others stayed home. I told him that Oma taught daddy at home, and Grandmama taught me at home, and that he was also going to do school at home. "Today?" he asked.

So I pulled out my Five In A Row manuals and decided we would start with Lentil since that is already a favorite story of his. Even though the manuals are not intended for preschoolers, there is a lot he can still comprehend and I think this is the perfect thing for us to be doing during these pre-school years. (That said, my Mom has some book recommendations for us and we really need to get on the stick so that when it does come time for school we have a plan.) Today we made lemonade, sucked lemons and watched our mouths pucker up, talked about sweet and sour foods, discussed life in a small town (he never got around to building a town...maybe tomorrow),talked about state names and looked at where we live on the map compared to Ohio (where the story takes place) and pointed out the different states where our friends and family live. (Lauren- Muncie is on our little placemat map of the US!). He was so excited about his 45 minutes of "school" and went to bed saying, "That was so fun doing school today with you, Mom" It made my Mommy heart melt. But mostly just because I feel like I just gave birth to this little man who now knows that the river by our house is freshwater and not saltwater. These kids are changing before my very eyes and I don't want to miss any of it!